Edge of the Couch

Welcome to Season 5 of Edge of the Couch. For this season, every episode will focus on a topic requested by listeners. In this episode, we discuss something that every therapist will inevitably face at some point in their career: how to show up for sessions when you're not feeling your best. Whether it's due to illness, a family emergency, a breakup, burnout, chronic pain, or depression,...

[Content note: Mention of abortion] In the closing episode of Season 4, we break our typical format to talk about the feedback we've received about the podcast, specifically when people have told us they have disagreed with us. We appreciate your questions, feedback, and ideas for the podcast, and please keep them coming! Alison McCleary www.alpenglowcounselling.com @alpenglow_counselling on...

Sometimes you end the video chat or close the therapy room door at the end of session and there's a feeling of confusion, missed opportunity, or incompletion. The session was a dud. In this episode, we talk about our own experiences with sessions that don't really feel like they go anywhere, the feelings that come up, and our unique self-critical voices around our work. Alison McCleary w...

Alison McCleary www.alpenglowcounselling.com @alpenglow_counselling on Instagram Jordan Pickell www.jordanpickellcounselling.ca @jordanpickellcounselling on Instagram Edge of the Couch www.edgeofthecouch.com @edgeofthecouchpod on Instagram We have partnered with Janeapp, an all-in-one practice management software. You can learn more at Jane.app/mentalhealth . Or, if you are ready to get started, m...

Alison McCleary www.alpenglowcounselling.com @alpenglow_counselling on Instagram Jordan Pickell www.jordanpickellcounselling.ca @jordanpickellcounselling on Instagram Edge of the Couch www.edgeofthecouch.com @edgeofthecouchpod on Instagram We have partnered with Janeapp, an all-in-one practice management software. You can learn more at Jane.app/mentalhealth . Or, if you are ready to get started, m...

In this episode, we unpack some of the messages we received in graduate school around the use of questions in session. We share some of our favourite question phrases and encouragement to continue developing your skills (and self-compassion!). Alison McCleary www.alpenglowcounselling.com @alpenglow_counselling on Instagram Jordan Pickell www.jordanpickellcounselling.ca @jordanpickellcounselling on...

This week, we talk with Jake Ernst, also known as @mswjake on Instagram. He's a social worker, a Clinical Director, and co-host of the This is Not Therapy podcast. Today, we explore what it looks like working with men and boys, trends he's seeing with young people right now, and what it is like being a therapist on social media. Jake is such a warm and brilliant human. This is a fascinat...

Grad school sometimes tries to separate the various parts of our identity into “therapist” and “everything else” but we don’t think therapists need to do that necessarily. In this episode, we talk about the power of integrating all different parts of ourselves into our work as clinicians, whether it’s sharing with clients our love of gardening or doing the deeper work of acknowledging how the inte...

Alison McCleary www.alpenglowcounselling.com @alpenglow_counselling on Instagram Jordan Pickell www.jordanpickellcounselling.ca @jordanpickellcounselling on Instagram Edge of the Couch www.edgeofthecouch.com @edgeofthecouchpod on Instagram We have partnered with Janeapp, an all-in-one practice management software. You can learn more at Jane.app/mentalhealth . Or, if you are ready to get started, m...

We are joined by Jennifer Hollinshead, the clinical director at @peakresilience , a therapist/supervisor and all around cool person who is going to be talking about what supervisees deserve from their supervisors. She shares her personal (and theory backed) approach to supervision that emphasizes the relationship above all else, how supervisees can make the most out of their supervision time, and...

Therapy undoubtedly changes our clients! But how exactly are clients changed? This week, we’re exploring what we have noticed are the consequences of therapy. As you’ll hear, it’s hard to call changes either “good” or “bad”. Oftentimes what feels hard for clients is still good in the long run but it can still really suck right now! Alison McCleary www.alpenglowcounselling.com @alpenglow_counsellin...

We talk about authenticity on our podcast all the time but we haven’t yet slowed down to define what we mean by ‘authenticity’ and what showing up authentically as a therapist really looks like. We share our evolving definitions of authenticity including the characteristics present in an authentic therapist (reciprocity, curiosity, self-reflection) and how those characteristics come alive in the t...

This week’s episode was highly requested from listeners. We are exploring the causes of burnout for therapists and what we can do about it! Listen more to hear Alison get on her "soap box" about the myth of self-care and learn how Jordan can tell she has been impacted by vicarious trauma. Alison McCleary www.alpenglowcounselling.com @alpenglow_counselling on Instagram Jordan Pickell www....

Sometimes we concentrate so much on knowing what to say to clients that we forget that what we don’t say is just as therapeutic. This week’s episode is all about the power and impact of nonverbal communication with our clients. This episode explores nods, smirks, grimaces, hand gestures, eye rolls, body movements and so much more. Even the smallest muscle flex in our face when perfectly timed can...

As therapists, it’s normal to think of clients between sessions and hope that they’re doing alright. But what happens when we worry so much that we can’t stop thinking about them? What happens when we find ourselves wanting to check in to be sure they’re okay? What about when we feel like we want to save our clients from pain? This week, we’re diving right in and exploring these questions. Alison...

As therapists, we can anticipate how first sessions are going to go. The informed consent process and intake questionnaires give us a bit of a script. It's usually in the second session that we shift into the rhythm of what ongoing therapy is going to feel like, but that transition can feel clunky! Second sessions can be an opportunity to clarify expectations, build trust, and create norms fo...

Do you have moments in session where your mind goes completely blank and you don't know what to say? In the early years of being a therapist, there can be a real fear of freezing mid-conversation. Here, we share our experiences of mind-blank panic moments, how our relationship with the not-knowing has shifted over time, and phrases we keep at the ready for when we don't know quite where...

In this bonus episode, we went on IG Live to wrap up Season 3 and discuss our thoughts about what therapists are currently facing. If you would like to support our work, give us a review on Apple podcasts or share the show with a friend. You can also join our Patreon to get full access to our bonus episodes. www.patreon.com/edgeofthecouch Alison McCleary www.alpenglowcounselling.com @alpenglow_cou...

For the Season 3 finale, we dive deep into a question we received from a listener: "How do you build trust with a client that has difficulty trusting people?" Alison McCleary www.alpenglowcounselling.com @alpenglow_counselling on Instagram Jordan Pickell www.jordanpickellcounselling.ca @jordanpickellcounselling on Instagram Edge of the Couch www.edgeofthecouch.com @edgeofthecouchpod on I...

Thanks for sending in your questions for this special Q+A episode. Some questions were so juicy, we are saving them for full episode conversations. Today's questions include: What do you do when you say the wrong thing at the end of session? How do you deal with guilt for leaving agency work? What is the best training for the money? How do you respond when a client says something inappropriat...

Some topics are a lot edgier than others and this one feels riiiiiiight at the edge, that’s for sure. This week we are exploring what happens when we notice ourselves judging our clients’ actions, especially when we think they have made a “wrong” decision. Alison McCleary www.alpenglowcounselling.com @alpenglow_counselling on Instagram Jordan Pickell www.jordanpickellcounselling.ca @jordanpickellc...

Alison McCleary www.alpenglowcounselling.com @alpenglow_counselling on Instagram Jordan Pickell www.jordanpickellcounselling.ca @jordanpickellcounselling on Instagram Edge of the Couch www.edgeofthecouch.com @edgeofthecouchpod on Instagram We have partnered with Janeapp, an all-in-one practice management software. You can learn more at Jane.app/mentalhealth . Or, if you are ready to get started, m...

The tenderness of termination sessions can be overwhelming for both client and therapist and so this week’s episode introduces listeners to sitting with all that feels raw, how to build ritual into termination, how to collaboratively prepare clients for the end, how to meaningfully and beautifully and genuinely say a unique goodbye to each client, and how to help clients begin the process of start...

This week, we're joined by Tyndal Schreiner to talk about and normalize how messy therapy can be. From post-session headaches to the reality that the middle part of the therapy journey is unpleasant, she is sharing her wisdom about how to sit with what is unpolished about the therapeutic process. Tyndal Schreiner www.tyndalelizabeth.com @tyndalelizabeth on Instagram Alison McCleary www.alpeng...

Alison McCleary www.alpenglowcounselling.com @alpenglow_counselling on Instagram Jordan Pickell www.jordanpickellcounselling.ca @jordanpickellcounselling on Instagram Edge of the Couch www.edgeofthecouch.com @edgeofthecouchpod on Instagram We have partnered with Janeapp, an all-in-one practice management software. You can learn more at Jane.app/mentalhealth . Or, if you are ready to get started, m...